


Pining For the Past

by TheFluffyPrince



Series: Skynet AU [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: AI Atem is the Atem in this story, Angst, Gen, Pining, post-dsod
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-14
Updated: 2017-11-14
Packaged: 2019-02-02 00:49:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12716355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFluffyPrince/pseuds/TheFluffyPrince
Summary: Yugi placed his hands onto the windows, squinting his eyes to try and see better. It took a few moments for another flash of light to shine, but once it did, he saw a familiar spiked hair style that made him stumble back, eye wide in shock.





	Pining For the Past

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: So I made a baby post of this, but I kinda wish that Yugi got to see AI!Yami, if nothing else than to have more angst. I always appreciate my ygo ships with a dash of angst. 
> 
> And at the time when I originally posted this on ygofanfics.tumblr.com, I wasn't aware of the Skynet AU. But this does take place in that universe (although it is separate from duelmepharaoh and mooguriklaine's stories). I would definitely recommend checking them out here on AO3, as well as over on tumblr. 
> 
> Pairing: Puzzleshipping (mainly Yugi pining)

Yugi was lost.

To be more specific, Yugi was lost inside of Kaiba’s strange space station. For some reason, the CEO had invited him to visit, claiming that there was something that he wanted to show him. Which, if he was being honest, made him a bit apprehensive. The last time Kaiba had demanded his attention concerning something he had, the world had almost ended thanks to the evil in the Millennium Ring. And while Atem had made sure to take the Millennium Puzzle away with him (and he assumed the rest of the Millennium Items as well), Yugi wouldn’t put it past Kaiba to have found some way to teleport to some other dimension just to get it back.

It was almost strange, seeing how borderline-obsessed Kaiba had become over Atem. He was aware of how prideful the other male was, and how stubborn he had been about being him in a duel, but he never thought that he would pull his own head out from the sand to see that he and Atem had been two separate people. The urge to defeat an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who humiliated you several times in multiple duels seemed to be a good motivator to believing in idea of magic and Egyptian spirits who wanted to kill each other. 

Coming to a stop in a random hall, Yugi let out a huff. All of the halls in the station looked alike, so he had no clue where he was walking. For all he knew, he probably had been walking around in circles. It hadn't even looked that big when he had been approaching the station. Growing frustrated, Yugi made his way to turn around and walk back when something caught his eye from the end of the hall. Yugi slowly turned around and narrowed his eyes. Blinking, Yugi noticed a darkened window a little ways away from where he was standing. Every once and a while, he would see a bright flash of light, making him curious to go investigate.

When he reached the window, Yugi placed his hands onto the windows, squinting his eyes to try and see better. It took a few moments for another flash of light to shine, but once it did, he saw a familiar spiked hair style that made him stumble back, eyes wide in shock.

“Yugi!”

Snapping his head, Yugi saw Kaiba storming towards him, irritated expression on his face. However, Yugi couldn’t really find it in himself to care too much, given what he had just seen. It couldn’t be what he thought it was. There was no way…He would have known if Atem had come back permanently…right? 

“What do you think you’re doing running around without Mokuba or myself-”

“How long has Atem been here?” Yugi asked, cutting Kaiba’s rant off. A look of shock came across Kaiba’s face before the CEO schooled his expression, eyes narrowing dangerously. The look put Yugi on guard immediately and he straightened himself, hands gripping tight by his side.

“I swear Kaiba, if you made Atem come back just to satisfy some childish rivalry, I’ll-”

Kaiba let out a harsh laugh, looking down at him as though he was some idiot. It made Yugi’s blood boil and for the first time, he actually contemplated doing something that he was sure to regret. It wasn’t some joke! With the amount of time Atem spent stuck in the Millennium Puzzle, and then the time he spent stuck inside of his body, he deserved to spend several lifetimes in the afterlife in peace. It had annoyed him when he had heard that Kaiba had tried to bring back the past the first time, but he had let it go because he had been longing to see Atem as well, as selfish as that made him feel. But after getting to see Atem, he had finally put his longing to peace.

Sure, Kaiba didn’t get the same opportunity to meet with Atem that he had. But he wasn’t quite sure what the other male was hoping to get from bringing him back. Kaiba was always the kind of person who never except defeat. But if, for some reason, Kaiba was able to beat Atem, would that really stop the CEO? Would that really put the feud to rest?  
Glaring at Kaiba, who continued to laugh, Yugi let out a rough breath before pinching the bridge of his nose. He needed to calm down. It would do no good to be too emotional over something like this. Watching as Kaiba ceased his laughing, the CEO crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Do you honestly believe that I could drag the Pharaoh from whatever world he prancing around in? Believe me, if I was able to reach him, I would not be here having this idiotic talk,” Kaiba said simply, walking past him towards the room where he had seen Atem.

“Kaiba-” Yugi started, irritation coming back twice as strong. Before he could say anything else though, Kaiba shot him a look.

“You are not to tell anyone what you see here.” Kaiba’s tone left no room for debate, causing Yugi to shut his mouth.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Yugi scrunched his face up in discontent, but nodded his head in agreement. Kaiba continued to stare him down, almost as though he didn’t believe him. But after a few moments, the eldest Kaiba turned to open the door, light filling the room as everything revved to life.

Yugi’s eyes immediately moved over towards where he had seen Atem and stopped in the entrance, heart skipping a beat. Standing in the center of the room was Atem, seeming to be staring off into space. It looked as though he hadn’t left at all, looking like he had back during that final duel. Just looking at him again made his chest tighten, although there was something in the back of his mind that was nagging at him. Something was off…

“Atem?” Yugi asked softly, flinching slightly as the other male turned to look at him. At once, red flags sounded in his head and he narrowed his eyes as he stared at Atem.

Something was definitely off.

“It’s taken me several years to reach this point, but for some reason, there’s something missing with him. That’s why I called you here,” Kaiba said from across the room, seating himself in front of one of the many computers in the room.

Looking over his shoulder at Kaiba, Yugi let out a questioning noise. “What? What are you talking about Kaiba?”

“I’m sure you were able to pick out the differences between his AI and the Pharaoh. I would have expected that from someone who claims that he’s so close to him,” Kaiba said, not sparing him a glance as his fingers practically flew across the keyboard, inputting something into the computer.

“AI?” Glancing back towards Atem, Yugi stared at the being in front of him. Of course he had been able to tell that something was off. Other than the obvious lack of reaction, this being’s appearance was still kind of…off. It was hard to really describe, especially since it wasn’t entirely physical. But it was still creepily close to the Atem that he knew. Reaching a hand out, Yugi’s mouth tightened as his fingers went right through the AI. His eyes followed his hand and for the smallest moment he felt his throat tighten with emotion. Clearing his throat loudly, Yugi’s eyes flickered upward slightly, starting as he locked eyes with the AI in front of him. At once, Yugi snatched his hand away, drawing a tiny smile from the AI.

“Aibou,” the AI said gently, moving slightly closer.

Yugi’s eyes watered and he brought a hand up to his face at once, trying to keep his tears back. Why did this always have to happen to him. He had wanted nothing else than to reach out and hug the Atem in front of him, even thought it wasn’t the Atem had he knew. But he always wanted to hightail it out of Kaiba’s station and refuse to look back. He hated that he always let himself be placed into these situations.

“While the AI would probably be perfect in regular situations, there are still a few kinks that need to be worked out. If you are willing help out,” Kaiba added, leaning back in his chair.

Wiping the tears from his face, Yugi cut his eyes back over towards Kaiba. There was a gleam in Kaiba’s eyes, one that he was very familiar with. It was the same gleam that would show up in his eyes sometimes, during those dark nights that he wanted nothing else than to scream at the top of his lungs. The tension in the room immediately grew tense and Yugi found it hard to breath in that moment. He should say no. There was no reason why he should let himself fall into this endless pit of pining and wishing, especially when had finally reached the top of the pit himself. He had finally been able to put everything behind him.

It wasn’t healthy in the least, and that’s why he was going to say no. He had to say no. He had to…He-

“What did you need me to do?” Yugi asked, stomach rolling as a smile came to Kaiba’s face.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me at ygofanfics.tumblr.com for more Yu-Gi-Oh fanfics and drabbles.


End file.
